Radial door



June 10, 1958 n. R. YOUNGER 2,837,780

RADIAL DOOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 9, 1954 INVENTOR.

llwer fififulqgr June 10, 1958 o. R. YOUNGER 2,337,780

RADIAL noon A Filed Au 9, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /05 IN VEN TOR.

5 BYDWEI'I; FIL-YTHIQET' A TTORNEK? D. R. YOUNGER June 10, 1958 RADIAL DOOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 9, 1954 INVENTOR.

BY DWQrL-EYIFJEQF FITTDHNEYS United States Patent RADIALDOOR Dwen R. Younger, Napa, Calif. Application August 9, 1954, serial No. 448,675

' 6 Claims. (CI. 20-19 (This inventionrelates to doors and more particularly to a door adapted to close a relatively large door opening such as in airplane hangars and the like.

i Heretof-ore, airplane hangar doors have been of the overlapping, horizontally slidable type, or of vertically operating hinged, collapsible or cantilever types all of whichare exteremely cumbersome and undesirable for many reasons. First, in horizontally sliding type stacking space must be provided in the plane of the door and outwardly of the hangar structure to permit the maximumyclear opening of. the door area. If this isnot done,

and there are two or more-door panels," the maximum much as hangar doors may "be extremely largefpower 7 means must be employed for opening'th'e door;.

In the case of military planes it is essential that hangar doors be opened with thegreatestpossible speed and, if power means is employed, the possibility of the power source becoming inoperative mustbe expected and auxiliary manual means should be provided for opening the door.

If'manual means is employed to open an overhead door, the operation is time consuming and usually requires the attention of many personnel.

In either case, the possibility of the door raising equipment becoming jammed or otherwise inoperative is always Present. 1

The main object of the present invention is, therefore, to "provide a door overcoming thedisadvantages of prior art doors. I 1 a Another object of the invention is the provision'of a door of the lightest possible weight that is formed along its'verti-cal extent in the shape. of a circular arc, thus providing the maximum strength per pound :ofweight.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a door which is adapted to be opened by gravity thus obviating delay in the event that the door operating power means, if any, is inoperative.

Yet-another object'of the invention is the provision of a' door which is supported frombelow the door opening thus eliminating the heavy structural membersnormally required to support the door in its open position.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a door of such a shape that it lends itself to power operation wi-th a minimum expenditure of power.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an.

airplane hangar door which, when open, is underground and protected from damage to which it would otherwise b e -vulnerable it above the hangar opening.

Other objects and advantages will be seen from the following specification and from the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a hanger with one half the hangar opening closed and the other half open.

Fig. 2 is a typical vertical cross sectional view through the hangar door frame showing a door panel in cross section and the supporting rollers in elevation.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a door panel showing the door chamber cover plate and the means for mounting and actuating the same.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view through a pair of adjacent door panels as taken along lines 4-4 of Fig. 2.-

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal cross sectional view through a pair of adjacent door panels in closed position showing the sealing means thereon.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view through a pair of adjacent door panels as taken along lines 6-6 of Fig. 3 and showing only the supporting channels.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary horizontal cross sectional View through. a pair of adjacent door panels at the ground level with portions of the hangar floor broken away to show the door supporting rollers.

Fig. 8 is a typical fragmentary cross sectional view through a pair of adjacent panels showing the construction of the panels.

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view through the support plate adjacent the hanger door opening showing the same engaged by the seals.

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view through the hanger and door opening showing a modified form of the invention in which the door is of the overhead type.

Fig. ll is a semi-schematic top plan view of the power means for actuating three door panels and the associated rigging.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the rigging.

Fig. 13 is a vertical side elevational view of a portion of the actuating device showing the means for adjusting the tension of the rope.

In detail, and with reference to Fig. l, the invention is adapted to be used on an airplane hangar generally designated 1 and formed along one vertical side with a door frame 2 defining a door opening 3 through which airplanes such as the one indicated at 4 may be passed.

The door opening 3 is closed by means of a plurality of door panels generally designated 5, five of which are shown in a closed position in Fig. l and five of which have been opened to permit removal of the airplane 4.

All of the door panels 5 are identical and only one will be described in detail. Referring to Fig. 2, each panel 5 is curved along its vertical extent to a circular are having a center of curvature C at a point inside the hangar and about centrally between the upper and lower edges of the door opening.

The door panel 5 is adapted to be positioned in an open position within a pit or underground chamber generally designated 7 (Fig. 2). When the door is used on an airplane hangar the chamber 7 may be formed *by excavating the ground adjacent the front of the hangar and providing a floor slabti of concrete over the excavated pit and a plurality of vertical structural steel supports 9 for supporting the slab 8.

The door panel 5 consists of alight steel covering inthe form of standard steel roof decking 10 (Fig. 2, 3);

panel 5 there is rigidly secured a structural channel member 13 which is also formed to the same curvature as plate 10. Channels 13 are positioned with their webs 14 at right angles to door covering and are welded thereto, and said channels are secured so that one flange 15 is flush with the outer side of the door covering 10 as seen in Figs. 3, 4, 7.

The channels 13 are relatively deep and the two on each panel are of such a size that they can support the weight of the entire panel in a manner that will subsequently be described.

As seen in Fig. 2 the door covering 10 terminates short of the bottom of the panel 5 when the latter is in closed position but the side channels 13 continue downwardly beyond the door panel proper to a point under the ground level. The space between the ground level and the lower edge of door covering It) is covered (when the door panel is closed) by means of a cover plate generally designated 20. The length of the cover plate 26 is equal to the width of the door panel 5 and there is, of course, one cover plate for each door panel.

The cover plate 20 is provided along its lower edge with lugs 21 which are pivotally secured in clevises 22 which, in turn are stationary mounted in any desired manner.

The cover plate 20 is adapted to be swung from an upper position (Fig. 2), when the door is closed, to a lower position (Fig. 3) when the door is open.

An extension spring 23 is secured at one end to the cover plate 20 adjacent the lower edge of the latter and extends slantingly downwardly and inwardly therefrom, relative to the hangar, and is fixed at its lower end (Fig. 2). When the door panel 5 is swung to its open position within chamber 7 as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 the cover plate 20 is automatically swung clockwise by the urging of spring 23 to the horizontal or closed position of Fig. 3.

Adjacent the upper edge of cover plate 20 the same is provided with a flange 24 which, when the cover plate 20 is in the closed position of Fig. 3 extends downwardly into engagement with a fixed structural angle 25. This angle 25 serves to define the upper end of the opening in the pit or chamber 7.

Thus when cover plate 20' is in its closed position a smooth surface is provided coplanar with the floor slab 8 within the hangar and the concrete or other ground covering 27 outside the hangar. I

At the connection between the flange 24 and the body of the cover plate 20 fillet plates 28 are provided to elfect a smooth and gradual juncture so that, as the door is swung upwardly to closed position, the leading or upper edge of the door urges the cover plate 20 to its raised position seen in Fig. 2.

By the above described structure it will be seen that the cover plate 20 effectively seals the space below the lower edge of the door panel covering and the ground level when the panel is open. When the panel is closed the cover plate 20 seals the chamber 7.

Adjacent the open end of the chamber 7 are a-pair of similar upper and lower rollers 30, 31 respectively which are adapted to engage the outer flange 15 of one of the relatively large channel members 13. The other channel member at the opposite side of the panel is engaged by similar rollers. 7

As best seen in Fig. 7 rollers 30, 31 each are rotatably mounted on shafts 33 which are rigidly secured centrally between their ends in a fixed vertically extending plate 34 which, in turn, acts as a divider between adjacent door panels 5.

In Fig. 7, and similar views, fragmentary portions of two adjacent door panels are shown for clarity and it will be understood that similar parts bear the same numerals although they are on difierent panel s.

About centrally. between rollers 30, 31 and in .en-

gagement with the opposite inner flange 16 of each channel 13 is a similar roller 32 which is similarly supported on a shaft 33 fixed to plate 34.

Spaced downwardly from roller 32 and above roller 31 is a somewhat larger roller 36 which is also in rolling engagement at its periphery with the inner flange 16 of channel 13 (Fig. 6). Roller 36 is rotatable on a shaft 37 fixed to the vertical plate 34.

Roller 36 is provided with a radially outwardly extending flange 38 which is adapted to engage the juncture between the inner flange 16 of channel 13 and the web 14. The opposite side of the roller 36 is not provided with a flange. Inasmuch as there is a flanged roller 36 at each side of the door panel 5 it will be apparent that said rollers serve to center the panel in a predetermined position.

Roller 36 is provided with a central annular slot 39 (Fig. 6) adapted to receive a rope 40 (Fig. 3), the function of which will subsequently be described. The depth of slot 39 is such that rope 40 may be reeved around roller 36 within said slot and at the same time permit the periphery of roller 36 to be in rolling engagement with the inner flange 16 of channel 13.

At this point it is pertinent to note that when the door is in the closed position of Fig. 2 the weight of the same creates a torque tending to swing it in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 2). In opposition to this torque due to gravity is a resisting torque set up by rollers 30 and 36'.

This resisting torque is also contributed to by roller 32 above described. Thus the door panel is completely supported adjacent its lower end and no securing means is required along the vertically extending side edges and none is required along the top edge.

As seen in Fig. 2, the shape and size of the chamber 7 is such that the door panel 5 fits within the same when the latter is open.

About centrally between the upper and lower ends of the door panel 5, when the latter is in open position, is a roller 42 (similar to rollers 30, 31, 32) which supports the weight of the door panel (Fig. 2, 4).

As best seen in Fig. 4, roller 42 is rotatably supported on a horizontal shaft 43 which in turn is fixed to a vertically extending plate 44. This plate 44, which is positioned between adjacent door panels and parallel to their direction of swing, constitutes the lower end of one of the supports 9 supporting the floor slab 8 of the hanger.

Above the roller 42 and rotatably mounted in plate 44 is a combination rope sheave and roller 46 similar to the roller 36 hereinbefore described and partially around which the rope 40 (Fig. 2) may be reeved.

Between roller 46' and the open end of the chamber 7 is another sheave and roller combination 48 similar to roller 46, which is rotatably supported on the plate which constitutes the lower portion of one of the other supports 9 (Fig. 2).

The rope 40 is secured at one end to the lower end of channel 13 and at the inner flange 16 thereof (Fig. 2). Rope 40 then extends generally along the channel 13, passes within the annular slot 39 of rollers 46, 48 and then around roller 36 to a source of power in a manner to be described. At this point it may be noted that when the door panel is in its open position within chamher 7 as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and'rope 40 is tensioned sufliciently, the panel will be urged circumferentially of its arc of swing and will roll along the rollers 30, 31, 32, 36, 42, 46 and 48 until it assumes the closed or full line position of Fig. 2.

As the panel moves towards its closed position it is seen that the rope 40 will become disengaged successively from rollers 46, 48 in that order. When moving toward an open position, the rope 40 will, of course, automatically enter the annular slot 39 in each of the rollers 48, 46 successively.

When the door panel is closed, and tension on rope 40 asst .180

is relaxed, it beapparent that the panel will move downwardly'to open position by gravity against whatever resis nce is present in addition to the friction ofthe IQHHS Ina'smuch as theupper portion'of each door panel is heavier than the lower portion because of the unequal disttribhtion o f'the covering 10, the center of gravity of chamber 7 need only be sufficient to contain the covered port n Qfths d o -Pan d n o u h are s flicient to receivethe lower ends of channels 13. When the panel 5 is fully open the lower ends ofchannels 13 may be positioned closely adjacent the fioor'level of the hangar (Fig. 2) and, if desired, a relatively small steel cover plate (not shown) may be substituted for the concrete at this point. 1 Althoughvarious power means may be employed for closing the door panel, a hydraulic cylinder is preferred for reasons which will become apparent.

One hydraulic cylinder may .be employed for each door panel if desired, but it is preferable to actuate two or more door panels from one cylinder. For this reason there is shown in Fig. 11 an arrangement for actuating three door panels simultaneously although it will be obvious that more orless panels may be actuated from one cylinder.

In Fig. 1 1 a conventional hydraulic cylinder generally I designated 50 is provided with a piston 51 to which is secured a piston rod 52 in the usual manner. V

Oil is introduced through a pipe 53 to the endof the cylinder 50 from which the piston rod 52 extends. Pipe 53 is provided with a check valve 54 to prevent movement oi theoil therethrough out of. the cylinder. Oil is forced throughpipe 53 into. the cylinder under pressure from a pump 55.

Oil is fed to the pump 55 from a reservoir 56 through a suction line 57 and return oil is transferred from the end of the cylinder, opposite that from which the piston rod 52 extends, through a pipe 58.

'Power is supplied to the pump 55 from an electric motor 59 so that the piston rod 52 is moved inwardly of the cylinder 50 when the motor is energized.

j Carried by the outer end of piston rod 52 is a double block 62 around thesheaves of which are reeved ropes 63, 6 4 respectively. Ropes 6 3, 64 are secured at one of their corresponding ends to the, cheek plate of a stationary double block 65,; The other corresponding ends of ropes 63, 64 run at right angles to piston rod 52 and are respectively secured to the. cheelg plates of triple blocks 67, 68 ,respective'ly. t

p eeved around the sheaves of triple block 67 are ropes 70 ,271,172. ,Rope 70 is passed around a stationary, block 73 'andthen around combination sheave and roller 36A identical to the roller. 36 hereinbefore described.

.-R'opes '71, 72 pass around stationary double blocks 74,

75 so'that the: same then extend in o. direction parallel to 71,72 then proceed around a;

piston rod 52. The ropes pa'ir-ot rollers'36B, 360; It will beunderstood that rolle'rs 36A and 36B, are operatively connected to the large, channels}? at, the opposite ends of one door panel 5.

jlhe arrangement above described is. symmetrically duplicatedon the oppgsitef side of. the hydraulic cylinder 50 so that rope 63 is operatively connected to rollers 36D, 36E and 361? in a similar manner to that described above. Rollers 36C and 36D are, of course, operatively connected to the opposite sides of one door panel while rollers 36B and 36B are connected to-the opposite sides of the adjacent door panel.

It will be apparent from the above described structure that, upon inward movement of piston rod 52, the

door. panels to which it is connected-willswing upwardly- (Figs; 2, 11).

6 7 Re erring to. he pipinsa sement of Fig- 11; it will be noted that the check valve '54 in pressure. line 53prevents oil flow out of cylinder-50 after the pump 55 has stopped. In other words, when the. door has been raised to its closedposition, it may be held there against gravity by the action of; check valve 54. To provide for the lowering of the door to open position,

a return or control line 78 is provided leading from the pressure end of cylinder 50 to the storage tank or reservoir 56. In control line 78 there is provided a control valve 79 which may be remotely controlled in any conventional manner if desired and which provides for escape ofoil from cylinder 50 to reservoir 56.

At spaced points along the length of cylinder 50 but adjacent the pressure .end thereof are a pair of by-pass pipes 80, 81 which connect withv return pipe 78 on the pressure, side ,of control valve 79.. Check valves 82, 83 respectively are provided in by-pass pipes 80, 81 to permit flow only in a direction outwardly of cylinder 50.

In the return pipe 78 and in .by-pass pipes 80, 81 there are provided metering valves 84, 85, 86 respectively which may beset to permit any desired predetermined rate of flow therethrough."

. By the above described arrangement it will be apparent that the door panel will be held in closed position against gravitywhen control ,valve 79 in pipe 78 is closed.

In operation, when it'is desired to open the door by gravity it is merely necessary to open control valve 79 and permit the "oil to escape from cylinder 50 through return pipe 78 and bypass pipes 80, 81. By setting the metering valves 84, 85, 86 the rate at which the door panel closes may obviously be predetermined.

The provision of the by-pass lines 80, 81 permits the 'door panel to open quickly without undesirable shocks; Thus, when the door panel starts to open there is a relatively large escape of oil from cylinder 50 because such escape is through all three of the metering valves '84, 85, 86. However, when the door panel approaches a completely 'open position, the effect of metering valve 86 is first removed and then metering valve '85, so that the final travel of the door panel is considerably slowed down because escape of oil is permitted through only one meter-' ing valve, that is, valve 84.

Associated with control valve 79 is a switch 90 which is in series with the circuit 91 of the electric motor 59.

Said switch 90 is arranged so as to be closed when the control valve 79 is closed. y In this manner the pump 55 starts to runwhen return of the oil from cylinder 50 to reservoir 78'is stopped by control valve 79, thus resulting in the piston rod being pulled inwardly-into the hydraulic cylinder to raise the door to closed position.

Also. in series with the motor circuit 91 is another switch 92 which is adapted to be-opened by the cheek plate of the block 62 on piston rod 52 when the latter reaches a position at which the associated door panel is closed.

It will therefore be apparent that when the control valve, 79 is closed, the switch '90 is simultaneously closed to energize motor 59 and start the pump 55 running to force the piston rod 52 inwardly of the cylinder 50 and close the door. When closed position is reached, the switch 92 opens and stops the pump 55 thus locking the door against the pressure of oil in cylinder 50. If, for any reason, leakage of oil occurs so that the door creeps downwardly toward open position, the switch 92 will close and the pump will start up and pump enough oil to close the door tightly.

An effective means for adjusting the length and tension of ropes 70, 71, 72 is shown in Fig. 13 wherein the end of each rope is shown secured. to eye bolts 95, 96;

97 respectively which, in turn are fastened to any suitablestationary structure such as plate 98 by means of -sponding channels 13 (Fig. 2) and then adjusted by the tioned within slot 102 is an elongated gasket 103 compression springs 106 which the door panels are closed. Secured to the web 14 of each channel 13 and within the latter is a longitudinally .extending angle 100, one leg 101 of which is positioned so asto cooperate with flange 15 of the channel 13 to form an outwardly opening slot 102, (Fig. Posiof-U- shaped cross section between the legs of which is provided a backing strip 104 of wood or the like. At spaced points along the length of strip 104 the same is provided withinwardly openingrecesses 105 for receiving helical react against web 14 to urge the gasket outwardly.

As seen in Fig. 5, the gaskets 103 on adjacent door panels 5 cooperate with each other to provide a sliding seal through the entire length of the channels 13 on which they are carried.

When the door panels 5 pass the stationary vertical plate 34 the gaskets or seals 103 are automatically spread apart by said plate as best seen in Fig. 9. The same action occurs when the gaskets pass the lower plate portions of supports 9.

To prevent undue lateral shifting of the door panels 5, rollers 109 may be provided rotatably mounted on the inner side of the Web 14 of each channel 13. These rollers 109 act in the opposite direction from the flanged rollers 36, 46, 48 and serve to keep each door panel in a predetermined central position.

The particular construction of the door panel above described may be followed in constructing an overhead door .as indicated in the modified form of Fig. 10. However, this construction is not as desirable as the preferred form above described because the door must be opened against gravity. I

The supporting means for the door panel 109 of Fig. 9 in open position is somewhat the same as that described above in the preferred form of the invention. However the rope or cable 110 which is employed to open the door and which may be reeved around sheave 111 and thence to the hydraulically actuated rigging-is, in this case, required to be passed along the outer side of the door panel when the latter is in open position. This is not as desirable as having the rigging completely hidden as in the preferred form.

Although hydraulic means is employed herein to open and close the door panel, the present invention is intended to include other means such as gear drives although the hydraulic system is preferred.

The present invention lends itself to use in hangars for housing jet aircraft. With such aircraft, and in the interest of flexibility and speed, it is desirable to provide a door at opposite sides ends of the aircraft so that the jet aircraft may be fired up in their stored position. Ihe opening of the door panels may be accomplished readily and with great speed.

I claim:

i 1. In a airplane hangar having a floor level and a door opening above said floor level, a door panel adapted to.

register with said opening when said panel is closed, a compartment below said floor level for receiving said panel when the latter is open, said door panel being curved along its vertical extent to a circular are, said panel being provided with a rigid extension extending into said compartment when said panel is closed, a pair of rollers in said compartment and respectively engaging opposite sides of said extension for providing a couple resisting the couple due to the action of gravity on said panel when said panel is closed, means for swinging said panel through its circular are about the center of curvature of said panel between said open and closed positions with said rollers in rolling engagement with said panel at all times. g r

of the hangar and at opposite 2. In a door structure that includes a vertically extending door opening, a rigid door panel having opposite inner and outer'sides and adapted to extend between the top and bottom of said opening when the door isclosed, said panel being curved along its vertical extent toa' circular arc whereby the center of gravity of said panel is horizontally offset from the ends thereof, means vertically spaced from said opening for swinging said panel through said circular arc about the center of curvature of said panel from a' closed position closing said opening to an open position vertically spaced from said opening, said means including a pair of rotatably supported elements spaced apart along the length of said are and engaging said inner and outer sides respectively of said panel during said swinging for resisting the couple created due to the weight of said door tending to swing the panel in a vertical plane about one end when the door is closed.

3. In a door structure that includes a vertically extending dooropening, a rigid door panel having opposite inner and outer sides and top and bottom ends and adapted to extend between the top and bottom of said opening when the door is closed, said panel being curved along its vertical extent to a circular arc whereby the center of gravity of said panel is horizontally offset from one end thereof, means adjacent one of said ends when said panel is closed for swinging said panel throughsaid circular are about the center of curvature of said panelfrom a closed position closing said opening to an open position vertically spaced from said opening, said means including a pair of rolling elements spaced apart along the length of said are and in rolling engagement with said inner and outer sides respectively of said panel during said swinging for resisting the couple created by the weight of said panel tending to swing said panel in a vertical plane about said one end when the door is closed.

4. In a door structure for use in a building provided with a floor having a floor level and a vertically extending door opening extending upwardly from said floor level, a rigid door panel having opposite inner and outer sides and top and bottom ends and adapted to extend between the top and bottom of said opening when the door is closed, said panel being curved along its vertical extent to a circular arc whereby the center of gravity of said panel is horizontally offset from one end thereof, means adjacent said lower end of the panel when the same is closed for swinging said panel through said circular are about the center of curvature of said panel from a closed position closing said opening to an open position below said floor level, said means including a pair of rotatably supported elements spaced apart along the length of said are and positioned below said floor level and in rolling engagement with said inner and outer sides respectively of said panel during said swinging for resisting the couple created by the weight of said panel tending to swing said panel in a vertical plane about said lower end when the door is closed.

5. In a door structure for use in a building provided with a floor having a floor level and a vertically extending door opening extending upwardly from said floor level, a door for such structure adapted to, close said door opening without securement along the vertically extending sides and horizontally extending top of said opening comprising: a rigid door panel having opposite inner and outer sides and top and bottom ends and adapted to extend between the top and bottom of said opening when the door is closed, said panel being curved along its vertical extent to a circular arc whereby the center of gravity of said panel is horizontally oifset from one end thereof, means adjacent said lower end of the panel when the same is closed for swinging said panel through said circular are about the center of curvature of said panel from a closed position closing said opening to an open position below saidfioor level, said means including a pair of rotatably supported elements spaced apart along the length ofv a said are and positioned below said floor level and'in rolling engagement with said inner and outer sides respectively of said panel during said swinging for resisting the couple created by the weight of said panel tending to swing said panel in a vertical plane about said lower end when the door is closed.

6. In a door structure 'for use in a building provided with a floor having a floor level and a vertically extending door opening extending upwardly from said floor level, a rigid door panel having opposite inner and outer sides and top and bottom ends and adapted to extend between the top and bottom of said opening when the door is closed, said panel being curved along its vertical extent to a circular arc whereby the center of gravity of said panel is horizontally ofiset from'one end thereof, means adjacent said lower end of the panel'when the same is closed for swinging said panel through said circular are about the center of curvature of said panel from a closed position closing said opening to an open position below said floor level, said means including a pair of rotatably supported elements spaced apart along the length of said are and positioned below said floor level and in rolling engagement with said inner and outer sides respectively of said panel during said swinging for resisting the couple created by the weight of said panel tending to swing said panel in a vertical plane about said lower end when the door is closed, said means including a power actuated driving element engaging said panel and positioned below said floor level.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,614,835 Margison et a1 Oct. 21, 1952 2,625,390 McFadden Jan. 13, 1953 2,651,541 Surles Sept. 8, 1953 

